Homeowner Shatrina Shy Greenwood was left stunned by the unexpected guest, posting a video online with the caption: “Big boom outside my door....I opened my door and this is who I found.”

She posted a series of video and photo updates on Facebook, which have racked up thousands of views, saying the gator “started acting like a fool” after getting caught.

Ms Greenwood believes the 9 foot-long reptile was “run out of the water by a larger male gator”, adding that “alligators are very territorial during mating season.”

She joked it was time to move back to California: “So no fishing and tubing for me. But to come so close to your property, though, it’s like he's been there before, ‘I hope they let me in again ‘cos I ain't [am not] going down tonight!’”

The mother told Fox 46 she had just returned home from an arts and crafts event with her 11-year-old daughter when the alligator called.

“I was sitting on the stairs on the phone with my family from California when I heard something go bump,” she said.

“I looked out the window and saw nothing until I looked down, then I just lost it.”

As the two recent incidents happened more than 90 miles apart, it’s very unlikely to be the same alligator knocking on doors, but you just never know.

Nuisance Wildlife Removal and Management Services helped remove the alligator after she called 911 for help.